Who Needs 3D When the Universe Is Flat?

Abstract

ABSTRACT An overlooked feature in astronomy education is the need for students to learn to extrapolate three‐dimensionality and the challenges that this may involve. Discerning critical features in the night sky that are embedded in dimensionality is a long‐term learning process. Several articles have addressed the usefulness of three‐dimensional (3D) simulations in astronomy education, but they have neither addressed what students discern nor the nature of that discernment. A Web‐based questionnaire was designed using links to video clips drawn from a simulation video of travel through our galaxy and beyond. The questionnaire was completed by 137 participants from nine countries across a broad span of astronomy education. The descriptions provided by the participants were analyzed using hermeneutics in combination with a constant comparative approach to formulate six categories of discernment in relation to multidimensionality. These results are used to make the case that the ability to extrapolate three‐dimensionality calls for the creation of meaningful motion parallax experiences.

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